Women's baseball champion brings elite Canadian players to Windsor

Future baseball hall-of-famers could be playing on Windsor’s baseball fields this week — but with a curveball.

The baseball players are women, playing women’s baseball, in the sport’s national tournament. Five teams are in Windsor from August 3 to 6 for the 2017 Baseball Canada Women’s Invitational Championship.

In the past, women have been channeled into softball rather than baseball. But the coaches and players in this weekend’s championship say women’s baseball is growing sport.

“If I look back say the last couple of years, the number of players particularly in the younger age group who have come to the tryouts has grown significantly,” said Sean O’Brien, head coach of Team Ontario.

“So you have certainly the success of the Toronto Blue Jays and Canada has, for younger girls, made them want to play baseball more. And now there are starting to be more opportunities for them to play. Once they’re a little bit older, then hopefully they’ll stick with it and baseball will grow.”

Each day of the tournament includes three to four games at Father Cullen Baseball Stadium at Mic Mac Park (a full schedule can be found at the tournament website at old.baseball.ca/seniorwomen/index_eng.cfm?content=schedule).

Team Ontario lines up before the start of their game at the Baseball Canada Women’s Invitational Championship at Mic Mac Park in Windsor, ON. on Thursday, August 3, 2017.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

Team Alberta, Team British Columbia, Team Ontario, Team Quebec and a team made up of prospects 21 and younger are playing in the tournament, hosted by the City of Windsor and the Tecumseh Minor Baseball Association.

From the five teams, 30 players will be selected to represent Team Canada against Team USA in a friendly series.

Team Ontario’s Ashley Stephenson bunts during the Baseball Canada Women’s Invitational Championship against Team Quebec at Father Cullen Stadium at Mic Mac Park in Windsor, ON. on Thursday, August 3, 2017.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

Jessica MacPherson, 18, is taking the field for Team Ontario. She started playing baseball when she was eight, with the Essex Yellowjackets.

“I honestly think I was just more comfortable playing with the boys, because I guess there was hype about, ‘Oh, boys are better than girls,’ you know what I mean?” MacPherson said. “So I was like, ‘Oh, I can play with the boys?’ And then it just ended up that it worked out like that.”

MacPherson has played softball, she said, but prefers baseball.

“I think it definitely is (a growing sport),” she said. There’s a tonne more people that I now know who are continuing to play.”

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens shakes hands with Team Ontario catcher Jennifer Gilroy after he tossed out the ceremonial pitch at the Baseball Canada Women’s Invitational Championship at Father Cullen Stadium at Mic Mac Park in Windsor, ON. on Thursday, August 3, 2017.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

MacPherson has travelled to Nova Scotia and Cuba to play baseball. As an Essex native, she said she’s thrilled to be playing so close to home.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “My family and my friends are all coming out to watch, it’s really exciting. I’m pretty stoked for this weekend.”

Her father, Dan, was watching from the stands.

“There’s a lot of possible future hall of fame women out on this field,” he said.

Team Quebec’s , Marie-France Castillo goes down in pain after fowling a ball off her knee during the Baseball Canada Women’s Invitational Championship against Team Ontario at Father Cullen Stadium at Mic Mac Park in Windsor, ON. on Thursday, August 3, 2017.Dan Janisse /
Windsor Star

Mayor Drew Dilkens threw the first pitch at Thursday’s evening game.

“It was great to be able to go out and welcome the teams here to the City of Windsor,” Dilkens said. “We’re really happy to be hosting this tournament this year.”

Dilkens said that if baseball were an Olympic sport, the players on the field in Windsor this weekend would make up Team Canada.

“And so you’ve got the best female baseball players in the country here in the City of Windsor this week,” he said.

Sports tourism is a part of the city’s economic development strategy, Dilkens said.

“It’s one of the elements of a solid economic development plan that brings people to the community, that fills hotel rooms, that makes restaurants busy, and so it’s good for the local economy,” he explained. “But it also creates quality of life and it inspires people here in the community.

“So there will be young girls who are here today watching the best female baseball players compete in their own city, and say, hey, I want to do that.”

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